One large obstacle
to expanding online learning opportunities in Michigan is an auditing procedure
for counting students. Each local district’s operating costs are partially
funded through the state’s foundation allowance, a state-guaranteed minimum
allotment that ranges from $7,162 to $8,489 for each student enrolled in most
districts.[*] Michigan law and administrative rules stipulate
that a district must comply with a number of so-called “seat-time requirements”
if the district wishes to collect the full state foundation allowance on behalf
of a high school student taking six courses or more per semester — a “full”
course load.[†]

In particular, the manual lists provisions for
“non-conventional pupils,” including those enrolled in online courses.[79] The pupil accounting rules outlined in the
manual require that online courses “generate credit towards the pupil’s high
school diploma,” “be academic in nature” and “be approved by the local school
board.” A “teacher-of-record must be identified” for the course, and a
certified school district teacher “must be assigned to the pupil” to serve as
an “on-site-mentor.”[80]

In addition, the state pupil accounting rules indicate
that a district may collect the full state foundation allowance on behalf of a
student only if the student takes no more than two online learning courses
off-site. In other words, if an otherwise full-time student takes more than two
online learning courses, the district will lose money if the student does not
take these extra online courses in a district classroom under the supervision
of one of the district’s certified teachers.[81]
This provision is a key part of the state’s seat-time requirements.[‡]

Notice that the “seat-time requirement” does not create
a problem for districts that simply convert a face-to-face course into an
online one. Some single-district virtual learning programs work this way and
are therefore unaffected by the state’s seat-time requirements, since students
are taking the courses in district-provided school buildings with a
state-certified teacher.

Similarly, districts may count students taking a
virtual course offered by a postsecondary institution just as they would any
other students “dual-enrolled” in a postsecondary institution. Pupils are not
limited in the total number of courses that they may take online while
dual-enrolled, but they must take at least one traditional course in their
district where attendance is required at the same time that they are
dual-enrolled in online courses.[82] The
district pays the student’s tuition and fees to the postsecondary institution
for each virtual course the student takes.[83]

Hence, seat-time requirements are not a real problem
for dual-enrollment online learning and some single-district virtual programs.
Nor do they matter for Michigan’s virtual charter schools, since state law
frees them from seat-time requirements.[84]

Seat-time requirements do pose a problem, however, for
MVS, for multi-district programs and for single-district programs offering
comprehensive alternative education virtual programs. These programs seek to
enroll students outside their immediate locale or students who are unable or
unwilling to be present regularly at a brick-and-mortar school site.

The state superintendent of public instruction has the
legal authority to waive the two-class maximum for online learning and the
required attendance in a schoolroom class for high school students in an
approved “alternative education program or another innovative program.”[85] In 2007, Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael
Flanagan invited schools to seek such waivers for innovative programs like
virtual schooling.[86] Any full-time online
courses still needed to meet other seat-time requirements, but the waiver
allowed a district to receive a full foundation allowance for a student who
took more than two online learning courses and did not regularly attend classes
in a school building.[87] The Michigan
Department of Education also created pupil accounting procedures to guard
against districts’ attempting to use the waivers to collect state aid for
students not genuinely enrolled.[88]

Most of the seat-time waivers granted in the following
school year were for single-district and multi-district programs aimed at
serving “dropouts” or other students at risk of dropping out. The districts of
Wyoming, Montrose, Jackson, Marquette, Avondale, Waterford, Chippewa Hills and
Berrien Springs were all approved for seat-time waivers.[89]

Some districts sought waivers to allow their general
education secondary students to take district-approved online learning courses
without seat-time requirements. Traverse City Area Public Schools was approved
for a waiver that allows a maximum of 25 percent of its high school pupils to
take more than two of their courses online and not be required to enter a
classroom regularly.[90] TCAPS’ program
connects students to courses offered through MVS and CyberEd Specialists, a
private, for-profit company started by a group of Traverse City teachers.[91]

For the 2008-2009
school year, Genesee Intermediate School District successfully launched an even
more expansive seat-time waiver program than Traverse City had. GISD applied
for and received a seat-time waiver that could be used by every school district
in Genesee County, as long as not more than 25 percent of a local district’s
high school population uses the waiver. Districts would enroll their students
through the GenNET program and gain access to a host of courses offered by a
variety of providers. In the 2009-2010 school year, the superintendent of
public instruction extended this GenNET seat-time waiver to every local school
district in the state, though with an additional limitation. Not only could no
more than 25 percent of a district’s high school students utilize the waiver
for GenNET courses, but also no more than 10 percent of high school pupils
in an intermediate school district could use the waiver for GenNET courses.[92]

Despite these limitations regarding the seat-time
waiver, the GenNET program appears headed for growth. All 57 intermediate
school districts in the state have signed up for the waiver, and 512 of
Michigan’s 551 school districts have signed up as well.[93] In the first four months of the statewide
waiver’s availability in 2009, students registered for nearly 2,000 courses.[94]

The demand for programs like GenNET and MVS and the
demand for seat-time waivers sends a clear signal that students desire access
to more online learning opportunities. To expand the availability of online
learning programs, the Legislature should make the seat-time waiver permanent
for any virtual learning programs meeting legislatively defined standards.
Without explicit legislative approval, seat-time waivers throughout the state
could be eliminated instantly by a subsequent superintendent of public
instruction.[95]

Such a legislative codification of the seat-time waiver
would bolster the Michigan Department of Education’s “Project ReImagine.” In
2009, the department created the program to challenge school districts to find
new ways to deliver instruction and establish a “new normal.”[96] The department was hoping to “implement
systemic change” and encourage districts to “be bold.”[97] If districts were allowed to boldly expand
their use of online learning without fear of losing their share of state aid
due to seat-time requirements, and if students were allowed to participate in
more virtual learning opportunities, the result could be a boost to student
achievement and even a reduction in costs for schools.

[*] Mary Ann Cleary, “School Aid” (Michigan House Fiscal
Agency, 2010), 32, goo.gl/HxtNd. The statutory
foundation allowance is $7,316, but the Legislature reduced per-pupil state
funding for schools by $154 in fiscal 2010, which makes the effective foundation
allowance $7,162. For more information about the foundation allowance, see Ryan
S. Olson and Michael D. LaFaive, A Michigan School Money Primer for
Policymakers, School Officials, Media and Residents (Midland, Mich.:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, 2007), 55-78.

[†] MCL § 388.1621b(3); Michigan Administrative Rule
340.7(5). These requirements are used to determine the portion of state aid
that school districts must pay on behalf of a high school student enrolling in
a course at a postsecondary institution. The procedure for calculating the
proration can be found at “5GA — Postsecondary (Dual) Enrollment and Career and
Technical Preparation” (Michigan Department of Education, 2009), 4-6, goo.gl/DuK7p (accessed Jan. 15, 2011). Student
membership in virtual learning courses is likewise calculated using the method
employed for students enrolled in classes at postsecondary institutions.
(“Pupil Accounting Manual: Section 5-O-A — Michigan Virtual Learning, Distance
Learning, and Independent Study” (Michigan Department of Education, 2010), 2, goo.gl/8Q3YN (accessed Jan. 10, 2011).)

[‡] The seat-time requirements in the Michigan Department of
Education Pupil Accounting Manual also stipulate that a district can earn a
partial foundation allowance for a student taking two online courses off-site
only if the student is also “enrolled in and attending at least one course
offered by the district in which credit is earned and regular daily attendance
is required.” “Pupil Accounting Manual: Section 5-O-A — Michigan Virtual
Learning, Distance Learning, and Independent Study” (Michigan Department of
Education, 2010), 1-2, goo.gl/8Q3YN (accessed Jan. 10, 2011).